Boats.com builds editorial team

SEATTLE – Boats.com has tapped several industry writers to form a team of editorial contributors who will develop bi-weekly columns on various segments of the boating market, from personal watercraft to megayachts, the company said in a press release yesterday.

“The new content initiative is a natural complement to our core purpose and reflects our commitment to not only maintaining, but further broadening our position as [an] online marketing and information resource for boat builders, dealers and consumers,” said Debra Keene Bergeron, Boats.com general manager.

The Team

Brett Becker is a freelance writer and photographer who has covered the marine industry for more than 10 years. He will handle the wakeboard/ski boat market. The former editor of Powerboat and Boating Life magazines, Becker regularly writes and shoots for Performance Racing Industry and Powerboat magazines. His work has also appeared in WaterSki, IntelliChoice, Automotive News and Cycle News.

Karen Buhler Gale will cover basic sailing and seamanship and is a freelance writer and sailor. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she wrote an award-winning health book for children, “The Kids’ Guide to First Aid”. She was a staff writer for CTB/McGraw-Hill in test and text development for schools, and currently writes sports and local interest articles for the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.

Jeff Hemmel is an award-winning writer, contributing editor for Boating magazine and the editor of Watercraft World magazine. He will handle pleasure boating for Boats.com. Hemmel has written for Consumers Digest, Powersports Business, Boating Industry and Wake.

Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She will cover yachting for the Web site. She is a contributing writer for numerous magazines including Power & Motoryacht, Robb Report and Elite Traveler; the author of five books including “Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Charter Vacations;” and the editor and publisher of www.charterwave.com, an online magazine about private yacht vacations. Kavin is currently president of Boating Writers International. She is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Charles Plueddeman, the current author of Boats.com’s bi-weekly Outboard Expert column will add a PWC column to his Boats.com repertoire. Plueddeman has been covering marine engine technology, PWC and trailerable boats since 1987, when he joined the editorial staff of Boating magazine. He was the founding editor of Boat Magazine in 1989 and has served for a year as the interim editor of Watercraft World magazine. A regular contributor to Boating as editor at large, Plueddeman’s work has also appeared in Men’s Journal, Maxim, Cargo, Popular Mechanics, Outdoor Life, Playboy and other national publications. He is a multi-time winner in the BWI writing contest.

Matt Trulio, who will contribute columns on high-performance boats and boating, joined Boats.com as powerboat editor in 2000 and is one of the company’s longest-standing employees. The winner of the 1999 Moulton H. “Monk” Farnam Award for Excellence in Editorial Commentary, as well as writing awards from BWI, Trulio started his marine writing career when he joined Powerboat magazine in 1995. He remains the magazine’s editor at large. In addition to his work for Boats.com and Powerboat, Trulio has written for Voyaging, ShowBoats International and Watercraft World magazines. He is a former newspaper writer and editor.

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